Market Wrap / GOLD $4000!

The S&P/ASX 200 ended the session flat, dragged down by tech stocks tracking a weaker session in New York. The local market was 0.1% lower at 8,947.60 points by the close of Wednesday's trade. Some profit-taking was observed amongst the gold miners, as bullion reached the US$4,000 threshold. Northern Star shed 0.2%. Healthcare buoyed the market however, with Mesoblast adding another 9.4% to its share price gains after reporting higher US revenues for its Ryoncil product.And James Hardie sprung 9.9% higher. It is forecasting adjusted net profit for the second quarter of the financial year will come above estimates.In other company news, DroneShield has presented new AI functionalities for its defence offering. This sent the share price 7.8% higher, while IperionX -also in the defence space- gained 4%. Tonight, the FOMC meeting minutes are due tonight, giving insights into last month's rate cut.